LectroFan Evo Review

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In the video above, I play all 22 sounds of the LectroFan Evo so you can have a listen, and discuss all of the features.

Summary

The LectroFan Evo is one of the most effective white noise machines I’ve tested. It’s especially useful if you need to block out loud external noise while you sleep, study, or work.

The maximum volume is very loud compared to most other white noise machines. And the choice of 10 white noise sounds, 10 fan sounds, and two ocean surf sounds gives you plenty of options to mask different types of noise, such as traffic, music, or a noisy housemate.

Pros

• Wide range of white noise and fan sounds.
• Loud maximum volume.
• Clear speaker.
• Effective noise masking.
• Headphone jack for private listening.
• Auto-off timers from 1 to 8 hours or continuous play.
• Compact, lightweight, and robust.
• Power with USB or the included A/C adaptor.

Cons

• No internal battery, so needs to be plugged in to play.
• Only two nature sounds.
• More expensive than average for white noise machines.

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Full review

Please note that this article isn’t an exact transcript of my video. I’ve organised it to be easier to scan and find key information.

In the photo above, you can see the white version of the LectroFan Evo. I had a grey one when I filmed the video above, but bought a white one more recently as I lost the old one when moving house! They seemed exactly the same to me though (other than the colour) even though I got the white one a few years later.

The LectroFan Evo is one of the latest white noise machines made by Adaptive Sound Technologies. The LectroFan Classic, which the Evo evolved from, was already excellent, so how did they make it better?

For me, the most welcome change is the addition of a headphone jack. This is great if you share a bed or room with someone who doesn’t like white noise. It also means you can have the white noise playing directly into your ears and mask even more external noise if you use good headphones.

How well does it mask external sound?

The LectroFan Evo is one of the most capable white noise machines I’ve tested over the years. Only the LectroFan Classic and Dreamegg D3 Pro had a good enough speaker and volume to match its sound masking.

The speaker quality is crisp and clear for its relatively small size, with good bass. The maximum volume is so loud that there’s not a lot of external noise that your ear will be able to pick out.

And if you listen to the right white noise option on a loud volume setting through decent headphones, you’re pretty much guaranteed to create a personal cocoon.

However, listening to white noise on a loud volume isn’t generally advised by sleep experts and audiologists. So it’s great that the machine has incremental volume controls. I found that for TV next door and traffic, for example, I could put it on a medium volume and cut the sound out just as well.

No more annoying snoring thanks to the headphone jack

A common criticism of white noise machines is that you can’t use them to cut out snoring because the snoring is right next to you in bed.

But with the option to use headphones, I found you can cut out snoring much better. Finally! It’s also good if you want to listen to white noise in bed, but your partner prefers silence or just doesn’t enjoy heavy pink or brown noise, for example.

The 22 sound options

The 20 white noise and fan sounds, as far as I can tell, are the same as they were with the original LectoFan. The two ocean surf are new additions. Here are the Evo’s soundtracks:

For me, there’s no change to how much I like the individual sounds. As always with so many options, there are some I find relaxing, and some I’ll never listen to. And that’s fine – some people like deep brown or pink noise, whereas others like intense white noise or industrial fans.

The new ocean and surf sounds

I have to admit I wasn’t particularly impressed when I first heard the new ocean and surf sounds. They remind me of the LectroFan Micro’s ocean sound, which is obviously white noise and just doesn’t have a natural feel.

I can see where the manufacturer is coming from though. In theory, you should be able to digitally recreate the chaotic sound of the ocean. Maybe I just have high expectations, but I still prefer a natural recording like you get in the Dreamegg or Sound+Sleep machines though.

On a positive note, the digitally generated ocean and surf are non-looping. And they have enough variety in volume, pitch, and distance so that it feels like you’re listening to something different.

But really, the LectroFans are better known for the high-quality digital production of white noise and fan sounds – not nature sounds.

Design

You can see in the photo below that the LectroFan Evo is a compact machine.

Like the previous model, it’s compact and feels robust. Many lower-cost white noise machines feel quite flimsy, but the LectroFan Evo looks and feels solid even though it’s not particularly heavy.

It’s not as tiny as some others, like the Micro 2, Yogasleep Travel Mini, Easysleep, or Magicteam devices, but it’s definitely compact enough to fit in a suitcase without taking up too much space if you want to take it with you on your travels.

I also like the new angled design of the case and speaker. The hexagon shape looks stylish, and the sound can be targeted towards you better than the previous upward-facing design.

And with different choices of color, like white, charcoal, and black, it’s a sleek device that will look good on a nightstand or office table.

Auto-off timers

The Evo lets you choose an auto-off timer from one to eight hours, or you can leave it on continuous play.

The system to change the timer isn’t the most user-friendly though. There’s one button to cycle through the times, and only a subtle change in the beep tone to tell you that you reached the maximum of eight hours. A light or LED screen would make this easier to set and check.

Conveniently though, if you turn it off with the power switch rather than the timer, it will recall the sound and volume you last set when you turn it back on again.

Power

Both LectroFan models come with a standard plug and USB connector, so you can plug it into the wall or any USB socket.

I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t add an internal rechargeable battery, so it still needs to be plugged in for it to work. This is my main criticism of the LectroFan Evo, as the option to use it wirelessly would be great.

Verdict

I was a fan of the original LectroFan Classic, often using it while I work to cut out noise from outside. And in desperate times, I’ve used it to help me sleep on noisier nights.

The LectroFan Evo fixed some of my criticisms of the original model, and only missed one – the lack of a rechargeable internal battery.

I like how they’ve included a headphone jack, so you can listen to the white noise without disturbing anyone else. It’s also good that they’ve made it easier to cycle between the fan or white noise sounds; it cuts in half the sounds you need to scan through to find your favourite.

Overall, the LectroFan Evo is an excellent choice if your main need is for a wide range of white noise and fan sounds, or if you want loud white noise, and don’t need nature sounds or music.